The stages of bhakti

Śrī Rūpa Goswami presents the nine stages of bhakti in his famous book Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. He formulated these stages based on verses 1.2.16-21 from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Here, I examine these stages and the corresponding verses.

Śrī Rūpa Goswami presents the following two kārikas in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu —

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo’tha bhajana-kriyā tato’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
tathāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāvaḥ bhavet kramaḥ

In the beginning, there is the onset of faith, śraddhā ( 1 ), which leads to the association with devotees, sādhu-saṅga ( 2 ). By their influence, a person is drawn to engage in devotional practices, bhajana-kriyā ( 3 ). This then removes unwanted desires and impressions from the practitioner’s heart, anartha-nivṛtti ( 4 ), at which point one becomes firmly situated in resolute devotion, niṣṭhā ( 5 ). From this, a taste for bhakti comes into being, ruci ( 6 ), which leads to a profound affinity both for bhakti and its object, Bhagavān, āsakti ( 7 ). From such affinity, the permanent transcendental emotion is born, bhāva ( 8 ), which culminates in the state of divine love, prema ( 9 ). This is the sequence of love’s manifestation in the devotional practitioner. (BRS 1.4.15–16)

Below, I present Babaji’s translation of the corresponding Bhāgavata verses, which are based on the commentary by Śrī Jīva Goswami presented in the Bhakti Sandarbha Anucchedas 11-15.

śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ |
syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt || [bhā.pu. 1.2.16]

O learned ones, by pilgrimage to a holy place, the opportunity to associate with and attend to highly realized devotees becomes possible. By such service, a person is blessed with faith [in the truth teachings and practices of such devotees], which occasions an interest in hearing the narrations of Bhagavān. This in turn gives rise to a taste for such narrations. (SB 1.2.16)

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ |
hṛdy antaḥstho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt-satām || [bhā.pu. 1.2.17]

When a person’s inauspicious predispositions have been almost completely destroyed by regular attendance to elevated devotees and by continuous hearing of Śrīmad Bhāgavata, then resolute devotion unto Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is praised in choice poetry, comes into being. (SB 1.2.17)

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā |
bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī || [bhā.pu. 1.2.18]

When a person’s inauspicious predispositions have been almost completely destroyed by regular attendance to elevated devotees and by continuous hearing of Śrīmad Bhāgavata, then resolute devotion unto Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is praised in choice poetry, comes into being. (SB 1.2.18)

tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye |
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati || [bhā.pu. 1.2.19]

The heart is then no longer overpowered by the qualitative states (guṇas) of perpetual distractedness (rajas) and indolence (tamas), nor by the vitiated emotions (bhāvāḥ) derived from them, such as lust, greed, and so on. Becoming established in the state of unalloyed being (sattva), consciousness becomes perfectly serene. (SB 1.2.19)

evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ |
bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate || [bhā.pu. 1.2.20]

In this manner, to one whose consciousness is established in perfect serenity and who is thus freed of all attachment through the influence of bhakti-yoga to Bhagavān, direct experiential awareness of the “suchness” of Bhagavān is immediately self-disclosed. (SB 1.2.20)

Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s summarizes these verses in his commentary on SB 1.2.21, which I provide below —

satāṁ kṛpā mahat-sevā śraddhā guru-pādāśrayaḥ bhajaneṣu spṛhā bhaktir anarthāpagamas tataḥ
niṣṭhā rucir athāsaktī ratiḥ premātha darśanam harer mādhuryānubhava ity arthāḥ syuś caturdaśe

In the above series of verses (SB 1.2.16–21), there are fourteen steps: ( 1 ) the initial grace of a devotee, ( 2 ) service to a highly realized devotee, ( 3 ) the awakening of faith, ( 4 ) taking shelter of a guru, ( 5 ) dawning of the inclination to participate in devotional practices, ( 6 ) formal engagement in bhakti, ( 7 ) removal of unwanted desires from the heart, ( 8 ) fixity in bhakti, ( 9 ) relish, ( 10 ) affinity, ( 11 ) permanent transcendental emotion, ( 12 ) divine love, ( 13 ) the direct vision of Bhagavān, and ( 14 ) the immediate experience of His most endearing nature. (Sārārtha-darśinī 1.2.21)

Here, we see that Śrī Viśvanātha provides further granularity in the stages of bhakti. The table below lists the correspondence between the two descriptions of Śrī Rūpa Goswami and Śrī Viśvanātha with the corresponding Bhāgavata verses. I identified the correspondence with individual Bhāgavata verses based on the commentary of Śrī Viśvanātha on the individual verses.

Śrī Rūpa Goswami	Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī	Verse number
	satāṁ kṛpā — the initial grace of a devotee	SB 1.2.16
	mahat-sevā — service to a highly realized devotee	SB 1.2.16
śraddhā — onset of faith	śraddhā — the awakening of faith	SB 1.2.16
sādhu-saṅga — association with devotees	guru-pādāśraya — taking shelter of a guru	SB 1.2.16
	bhajaneṣu spṛhā — dawning of the inclination to participate in devotional practices	SB 1.2.16
bhajana-kriyā — devotional practices	bhakti — formal engagement in bhakti	SB 1.2.17
anartha-nivṛtti — removal of unwanted desires and impressions from the practitioner’s heart	anarthāpagama — removal of unwanted desires from the heart	SB 1.2.17
niṣṭhā — becoming firmly situated in resolute devotion	niṣṭhā — fixity in bhakti	SB 1.2.18
ruci — taste for bhakti	ruci — relish	SB 1.2.18
āsaktī — profound affinity both for bhakti and its object, Bhagavān	āsaktī — affinity	SB 1.2.18
bhāva — permanent transcendental emotion	rati — permanent transcendental emotion	1.2.19
prema — state of divine love	prema — divine love	1.2.20
	darśanam hareḥ — the direct vision of Bhagavān	1.2.20
	mādhuryānubhava — the experience of His most endearing nature	1.2.20